I haven't taken a rescue class, but I have read the course material and have a lot of experience in "rescue" situations from other activities I've participated in throughout my life. From my perspective, it's not that the skills themselves are particularly likely to be used (except possibly in classes) but the state of mind is a significant "intangible" that I think all divers need.
I'm a newb with less than 50 dives. I have decent (not fantastic) buoyancy and trim and I'm very comfortable in the water. So far I've had 4 or 5 "emergency" situations I've had to deal with, including one some might consider a rescue of a panicked diver in a surf entry. I didn't have to do an underwater search or bring anyone up from depth, but the biggest factor I noticed in my "emergency" situations was the state of mind to think through the problem.
I suspect going through the course material and practicals with an instructor will give some people a bit of this state of mind. I think, though, most of the people taking the rescue class independent of some specific program to become DM or Instructor, already have the presence of mind you'd learn from such a course.
All the other rescue skills the course teaches I simply don't see being needed by most rec divers. If they were, they simply wouldn't have been culled from the OW course. Rudimentary skills are still taught in OW and, from what I can tell, those are sufficient for most rec divers. I would be happier if better/more comprehensive skills were taught in all OW courses, but if they're not used, most people will forget them anyway.
I'm a newb with less than 50 dives. I have decent (not fantastic) buoyancy and trim and I'm very comfortable in the water. So far I've had 4 or 5 "emergency" situations I've had to deal with, including one some might consider a rescue of a panicked diver in a surf entry. I didn't have to do an underwater search or bring anyone up from depth, but the biggest factor I noticed in my "emergency" situations was the state of mind to think through the problem.
I suspect going through the course material and practicals with an instructor will give some people a bit of this state of mind. I think, though, most of the people taking the rescue class independent of some specific program to become DM or Instructor, already have the presence of mind you'd learn from such a course.
All the other rescue skills the course teaches I simply don't see being needed by most rec divers. If they were, they simply wouldn't have been culled from the OW course. Rudimentary skills are still taught in OW and, from what I can tell, those are sufficient for most rec divers. I would be happier if better/more comprehensive skills were taught in all OW courses, but if they're not used, most people will forget them anyway.